The people
What they build
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Working at Singspiel
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On the TechTO stage
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About
The problem Singspiel set out to fix is that most people who start an instrument quit within a few years, and the practice hour between lessons is where they lose interest. The app captured the sound of a student playing, pulled musical features out of it, and returned instant feedback on their device — Rahbari's own comparison on the TechTO stage was Duolingo or Rosetta Stone, for music. It came out of a fourth-year design project at the University of Waterloo and went through MaRS's JOLT accelerator in the Winter 2013 cohort, which ran February to June 2013; Rahbari told the TechTO room in December 2014 that they graduated in September 2013 and stayed at MaRS to build. A $350,000 seed round led by the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund followed, reported by BetaKit in January 2015, by which point the company had shifted from selling to parents toward champion teachers inside established music institutions, with a curriculum it could sell back to them. Singspiel is no longer active and its site no longer resolves.
Backers
Seed round led by the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, reported by BetaKit in January 2015.
Quick answers
What did Singspiel do?
It listened to a student play through a device microphone and gave instant feedback on their performance, using standard music notation, for piano, violin, guitar and voice.
Who founded Singspiel?
Arian Rahbari and Ivan Cheung, out of a fourth-year design project at the University of Waterloo. The company went through MaRS's JOLT accelerator in the Winter 2013 cohort.
How much did Singspiel raise?
A $350,000 seed round led by the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, reported by BetaKit in January 2015.